


Long-Lasting Love

by redhotpandas



Series: Crying Means I Love You [1]
Category: 1917 (Movie 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Crying, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Kissing, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Valentine's Day, Will Schofield Has Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:53:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23408599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redhotpandas/pseuds/redhotpandas
Summary: It's Valentine's day, and Will has a surprise for Tom.Since it was Valentine’s day, it was only proper for Tom to think of how much he loved everything about Will.
Relationships: Tom Blake/William Schofield
Series: Crying Means I Love You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725433
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	Long-Lasting Love

**Author's Note:**

> I say fuck like eight million times in this
> 
> i stayed up way too late to write this and as a result im going to die
> 
> please give me any 1917 headcanons you have!

“I’m back!” Tom called as he struggled to get through the door with all his shopping bags. It was rather unfortunate that they had decided to live on the third floor of the apartment complex, but there was absolutely no way Tom was going to make a second trip back down, so help him. He looked over at Will, who was stretched out on the couch playing a video game languidly. His socks didn’t match, and he seemed to have just taken a shower. Will always looked great. 

“You look like you’re having fun. Decided to stop worrying about graduation, eh?” 

Will gave him a pained look. “I actually managed to forget about it up until you so dearly reminded me.” There was a beat of silence, as if he was recalling something. Then, he decidedly stood up and came over to him, reaching for the bags. 

“Will, really, I don’t need any help--”

“Yes, I know, you’re so strong you could bench me if you wanted. A couple bags, please.” 

Tom handed them over. “You know, if you weren’t so tall, I really could bench you!”

Will smiled at him and went into their small kitchen to put everything away. “Are you threatening me?”

Tom breathed, relieved. He thought he had upset Will by mentioning graduation. Back when Will was still “Scho” to him, they had been sort of friends in history class. Will was quiet and studious, and Tom would not stop bothering him. To be fair, it was originally so that he would have someone to get notes from if he missed class, but then Will and him had to do a project together (that they did well on, thanks to their combined weirdly vast knowledge of wars) and then Tom realised Will could be silly and adorable when he wanted, and that he liked him. 

Anyway, it was Tom’s first year at university, so he was fairly prepared and actually doing okay after making a few friends. However, Will couldn’t have said the same. In order, Will’s year went something like this:

1\. Realise you are into men.

2\. Realise your parents wouldn’t appreciate this due to the fact that they are homophobic and they already had suspicions about you anyway, so you get a girlfriend even though you don’t really like her (and honestly, she was so mean to you all the time for fucks sake).

3\. Your new girlfriend wants to “take your relationship to the next level” and you can’t do that obviously so she dumps your ass and complains to your parents (god, why did you let her meet your parents?) 

4\. They ask you why you broke up, and after a lot of angst you accidentally come out, and while they don’t disown you completely, you still have a panic attack so bad it makes you throw up.

5\. Because of this, you start skipping classes and your academic life continues to get worse. The one time you do come to class, you vent to your friend (who is handsome and a good listener) and tell him you don’t understand the point of being here because after you graduate, you have to get a good job, make your parents happy by starting a family, and work until you die because that’s what the economy requires for you to not have a shit time on earth. What’s the point of being alive anyway if you are never happy? 

6\. Your friend is like, “Oh my god, are you okay?” and you leave class before you cry into his shirt or something. You just wanted to see him one last time anyway.

7\. What you didn’t account for was him coming to check up on you (because he cares about you) and he sees everything you were about to do.

8\. After that, it slowly started to get better. You even got a therapist and everything. You are working on things. You don’t think about quitting school as often, even though it is strenuous at times. You have more good times. 

“Aren’t you going to put those away?” Will asked, bringing Tom back to reality. 

“Silly me!” he said derisively, rustling through his bags once again to make sure he had gotten everything for dinner tonight. It was the least he could do, buying groceries, since Will had asked Tom if he could make dinner tonight, since it was a special occasion.

That Will, always being so mature, even though he was only a few years older than Tom. He took a gap year to help support his sister and her girls after her horrible divorce. When Tom learned about it, he couldn’t believe Will hadn’t tried to kill her ex-husband for how he had treated them. Will always did so much for everyone, and it kind of made Tom feel bad, because Will never put himself first. 

“Stop thinking so much. Tonight’s going to be great, I promise.” Will pulled him into a hug, placing his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. Tom really loved how tall Will was (even if he did threaten to put his phone on top of the fridge sometimes). Although, he did have to kind of bend down to kiss him. Which was what they were doing right now. It was Valentine’s Day, after all. Tom didn’t realise he was getting carried away and bit down on Will’s collarbone, causing him to moan softly. 

“Oops,” Tom said sheepishly, pulling away. “Best to save that sort of thing for later.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Will said, completely flushed. “I have things to do anyway.”

“Yeah, right!” Tom complained, the sarcasm completely going over his head. “All you’re going to do today is make dinner, eat it with me, and then go to bed.”

“Like I’m just going to go to bed on Valentine’s Day! I don’t know about you, but I have been trying to get my boyfriend to ruin me for a couple weeks now--” Will started.

It was Tom’s turn to go red. “Well I’m sorry I wanted to take the time to treat my wonderful boyfriend right! I can’t help it if he’s so gorgeous that I want to take a moment to remember it, yeah?”

Will playfully danced around him when Tom reached for him again. “Gorgeous?”

“Are you serious? Every time I look at you, I think so,” Tom said, backing Will up against the counter. He was really getting worked up. In a flash, he thrust his hand out and dug his fingers into Will’s ribs. 

The effect was immediate. “Tom! Stop!” Will cried. Tom wasn’t having it. Will shrieked, writhing with laughter. But he couldn’t get away. He threw his head back and it promptly made contact with the cabinet behind him.

Tom moved away and reached to examine him. “Oh god, are you okay?”

“Fuck, that hurt,” Will grimaced as he tentatively touched the back of his head.

“Will, I’m so sorry!” 

Will waved a hand. “Not your fault. I’m just glad I didn’t impale my brain on the knob or anything.” 

“Seriously, though, you--” Tom was cut off by lips pressing against his. 

“I’m fine. Come on, let’s go do something that couldn’t possibly get either of us killed.”

“What, like play video games and be lazy? Because I could definitely do that.”

“I don’t know, there’s a high risk of injury if you beat me.”

“In anything?” Tom asked incredulously. 

“Yes. What are you going to do about it?”

Tom couldn’t think of an appropriate answer to that.

After handing Tom his ass in every video game, Will suggested they watch some videos, and then only twenty minutes into it he fell asleep. On top of Tom. While this was normally endearing, Tom couldn't help but wonder if he wasn’t sleeping well again. He would never tell him when he was too anxious to sleep, the bastard. 

That didn’t matter right now, Tom reminded himself. Will’s body was a warm comfort weighing him down. He couldn’t get enough of how they fit together, even if he was starting to sweat a bit. He wished he could fall asleep himself right now. Curse him for getting a good night’s rest.

Oh, fuck. This was exactly like when someone has a sleeping cat on their lap, effectively imprisoning them to where they are sitting for god knows how long. Was it always this stuffy in here? Tom made a mental note to get rid of all his sweatshirts in the future. He desperately looked at the time. 

What a relief! It was almost four o’clock; Will had told him he wanted to get an early start on dinner. Tom touched Will’s face, just because he could. It simply wasn’t fair to look this striking, and have such nice hair, and possess eyes that were altogether indescribable, yet sublime. Really, how was Tom supposed to measure up? 

“Shit, sorry, I fell asleep.” It was a statement.

“Stop being cute.” 

“I’m not trying to be,” Will mumbles sleepily, which causes him to receive a loud kiss to his cheek. “What time is it?”

“About four.” 

Will attempted to sit up, but it is discovered that his arm had fallen asleep from where it was squished between the couch cushions, and he collapsed back against Tom. “You know, I think I’ll stay here for a minute.”

He pressed his face into Tom’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. Tom frowned. He knew exactly what Will was thinking about. Early autumn last year, his and Will’s relationship had finally solidified into that of close friends, and so they hung out a lot, occasionally going out for drinks. Tom should’ve known that eventually he would run into problems, being in the city so often. 

One time after a fight, Will said he didn’t want to come, but Tom had other friends and didn’t need Will anyway, so he went by himself. No, Will needed him all right, but Tom was perfectly capable without him. Will didn’t have any excuse to feel embarrassed by his presence if he wasn’t there. (God, Tom felt ashamed every time he recounted this story. Even though literally no one expected him to be.) 

Eventually, he got way too fucking smashed and called Will to come pick him up, because he knew he would. Will rightfully bitched him out on the phone, but said he would come. That had been fine, but then an hour passed by, and Tom cursed Will out as he resigned himself to walking back to his room. He guessed he must have taken a wrong turn or something, because suddenly he found himself in a particularly foul alley. That wouldn’t have been a problem, except some nondescript guy decided to shank him just like in the movies.It happened in a second. Tom figured he had taken too long handing over his wallet containing three pounds and a handful of change, so the man got scared and just did it. It didn’t even feel like anything, which was probably the adrenaline or maybe the alcohol, but the guy must’ve regretted it so he ran off. 

Tom realised his phone had been ringing. It was Will. “Where the hell are you, Tom,” he said tersely.

“Where the hell are you?” 

Will sighed. “Just tell me where you are. I’m at the bar.” 

“I dunno, to be honest.”

A pause. “What?” 

“I’m in an alley or something. I’ll just walk back until you see me.” Tom still hadn’t registered the fact that anything was wrong as he began making his way back. It was amazing there was no one really out to see him walking around with a motherfucking stab wound.

“How much did you have to drink?” 

“Why do you want to know? Finally came to your senses and realised you should be having a drink with me?”

“Gee, I’d love to. Except I actually can’t because I have to drive you home, prick.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re the one who said yes when I asked!” 

“Yeah, and now I’m regretting it!” 

“Hey, I see you!” Tom said cheerfully, blind-siding Will in their argument. He hung up before Will could say anything. He quickly put his phone in his pocket so he wouldn’t lose his grip, on account of he wasn’t feeling so great all of a sudden. 

Will went up to him, then. “Tom!” Then he saw his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Some git shanked me, I think.” 

“What?” Will stepped back and swore when he took in the growing patch of blood on Tom’s shirt. “Fucking Christ! We’ve got to call you an ambulance!” 

“Okay, I’m just gonna sit--”

“Like hell you are! Come on, I’m not letting you die in the street!” Will said as he all but manhandled Tom into the bar, where Tom instantly passed out. 

There wasn’t much more Tom could remember after that. Will said he just tried to put pressure on the wound while the bartender called the ambulance. It came and took them to A&E, Will quietly sobbing all the while. (Will told him that part so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed. He said that you couldn’t help feeling that way when you’ve caused a scene, even inadvertently). Luckily, Tom’s injury ending up being nothing unmanageable; he just had to let it heal for a while. To this day, it still didn’t feel like it really happened. However, it definitely added to Will’s anxiety. Tom couldn’t help apologizing.

“Apologizing to me? For you getting stabbed?” Will had said incredulously. But their relationship was still tense for a while anyway. Both parties felt miserable about what happened. At least that didn’t last long. 

Will finally got up off of Tom and left for the kitchen, sighing fondly. Tom smiled to himself mischievously. Since it was Valentine’s day, it was only proper to think of how much he loved everything about Will. Especially when he cried. The thing about that was that Will had never used to let himself cry. He never let himself release the emotions he had been holding in, since apparently his parents didn’t think boys should cry and all that shit. But now, Will cried a lot, and it was great. Don’t get him wrong, Tom did feel bad whenever Will was upset, but there was a difference in him crying because he was too overcome with joy and when he was having a panic attack. (Will also cried sometimes when they had sex, which something else entirely. A wonderful something else.)

There was a hell of a clatter coming from the kitchen. Tom’s eyes flew open. When had he dozed off? 

“Do you need any help--”

“No, thank you,” Will shouted indignantly. “I’m almost done, really!” 

Well. If he said so, then. Tom looked around. There was really nothing else to do. One thing he had yet to grow out of was his short attention span. He got up and decided to wander around the apartment. 

Maybe he should take a shower. He really wished Will would’ve let him help, since he loved to cook. Tom’s mother had taught him how; Before Will had met her, he’d said she must be an amazing woman if her food turned out the same way Tom’s did, and after he met her he said she was more friendly and understanding than his own parents, who as far as Tom knew, were rich callous pricks. The only reason Will hadn’t cut ties with them (allegedly) was because they were paying for his entire tuition. That was one of his great stressors. Will’s parents were the kind of people who refused to help their own daughter when her ex-husband turned out to be abusive, claiming that it would make the family look bad if word got out. They told Will the same thing when he came out to them. 

Thinking about them was ruining Tom’s good mood. _It’s Valentine’s day,_ he thought as he walked into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. _I get to have a fancy dinner with Will. Then we will exchange gifts. Then, I get to have sex with my stupidly hot boyfriend._ Quite an ideal series of events. 

He looked at himself some more. Should he shave? Should he change his clothes? He was only wearing a shirt and some joggers, but he wasn’t about to change into jeans. Anyone who did that in their own home was insane. 

“Tom! It’s ready!” Will called, breaking him out of his thoughts for the millionth time that day. Tom unceremoniously slid into the kitchen. The table was laden with candles (the fake kind obviously, since both he and Will were accident-prone), the nice dishes, a tablecloth (which there was no way they owned before today) and a big steaming bowl of...spaghetti and meatballs. 

Will caught him looking at it. “Listen, I know I said I was going to make something fancy, but...I can’t cook nearly as well as you, so.” 

Tom decided to bypass the matter completely, instead replying with a cheeky “Looks good, mate!” and then immediately sat down and began helping himself.

Will blinked, then laughed. “I’m sorry, I guess I was just worried you wouldn’t like it.”

“Who _doesn’t_ like spaghetti, though?” Tom said, taking a bite. It was pretty good; it’s pretty hard to fuck up spaghetti and meatballs.

After they were finished, they both stood up at the same time. Tom squared his shoulders. “Will, surely you aren’t getting up because you want to clean the kitchen? After you made dinner?”

Will hesitated. “Well...I did make a mess, though.”

“Oh, come on! No one ever actually wants to do the washing up.”

Will set down his plate. “Mm...I guess I could get your Valentine’s day surprise ready...in the bedroom, that is.”

Tom gaped at him. Before he had time to react, however, Will hastily exited the room. 

He couldn’t even imagine what the surprise could be. It would probably be good, though. Will could be a freak in the sheets if he felt like it.

Finally, Tom finished cleaning. He secretly was glad he’d gotten to load the dishwasher; Will did it wrong, but he could never explain why. He reached into the cupboard and pulled out the gift for his boyfriend. It had been difficult to think of things to get Will; the guy practically had everything, and if Tom asked what he wanted he would probably say something like “mental health” or “a better credit score”. What the fuck. 

Instead, Tom had bought him a stuffed Sandshrew (from the official Pokemon website, of course), some candy, and a gift card. The card practically screamed “IDK what to get you” but Tom was curious as to what Will would use it on. He knew Will would enjoy it, so it was okay if it wasn’t perfect. 

Tom knocked on the bedroom door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, you don’t have to ask--”

Tom opened the door, deflating when he saw Will lounging on the bed, wearing basketball shorts and a hoodie. 

He took in Tom’s expression. “What? Were you expecting something else?” he teased. 

Tom went over and sat down next to him. “Uh, no, it’s fine--”

“Don’t worry, you’re getting the surprise. I’m wearing it under this.”

Tom’s face went hot. He almost didn’t hear Will ask “What’s this?” and fucking snatch the bag out of Tom’s hands. “It’s for you,” he said weakly. 

Will took everything out of the bag and laid it out. Then he grabbed the Pokemon plush and inspected it. “This is adorable. Sandshrew is my favorite, you know?”

“Of course I know,” Tom mumbled, pleased.

“Thanks for all this,” Will said as he put down the toy. “I always wanted one, but I always feel like I should be saving my money for something ‘important’...even though this _is_ important. Anyway, thank you.” 

Tom knew what Will was trying to say. He had a hard time spending money on himself because he felt like he didn’t deserve it. This was a big problem because of things like Will’s shitty car that he should get fixed, and it also extended to things like buying himself snacks, which really sucked. Will hardly ate candy at all; the motherfucker’s snack of choice when they were playing video games was maybe a glass of water. Tom couldn’t believe Will had deprived himself of chocolate for so long. 

Will put his presents away and turned to him. “So...do you want _your_ gift, now?”

Tom nodded wordlessly. 

“All right. I know how much you like cheesy romantic things--” Will said as he began undressing. “So I got this.” He pulled down his shorts to reveal a pair of white boxers with red hearts patterned all over them.

“Just like in cartoons,” Tom breathed.

“Yeah.”

Tom looked up. Will’s arms were crossed, and he was looking away. 

“Surely you aren’t embarrassed? Obviously, I love it.”

“It’s a different kind of embarrassment,” Will muttered. 

Tom slid his arms around Will’s waist and pulled him back onto the bed. Will turned over and stretched out, putting his arms behind his head. Tom’s eyes traveled down over Will’s abs and he reached out to put a hand on his stomach. Will looked at him. 

“Why aren’t you kissing me already?” he said pleasantly. 

“I must have gotten distracted,” Tom said as he gripped Will’s hip and moved toward him to meet his lips. Will slotted a leg between Tom’s they kissed. Tom moved to Will’s throat, mouthing at his jugular, and Will held him tighter, moaning softly. 

Tom slid his fingers into the waistband of Will’s underwear, debating whether or not he should take them off of him. He really liked them. He decided to slip his hand inside his boxers and jerk him off violently. Will choked. He threw back his head as Tom bit down on his collarbone. 

Will clutched Tom’s shirt in his fists. “Tom, I can’t--”

Tom stopped, causing Will to groan angrily. “Fuck this,” he said suddenly as he pushed Tom over and got on top of him. He leaned down and kissed Tom desperately. Tom moaned as Will kissed his neck. He pressed up against Will’s hips.

Will’s entire face down to his chest was flushed. He got off Tom and stood up to take off his underwear. Tom readily got up also, going red when he realized Will had gotten his pants undone. He threw his shirt at him and Will grinned. 

Tom went to open the nightstand drawer, but Will stopped him. “I took care of it,” he said softly. 

Tom breathed out. “Fuck, Will, I swear.” 

“Come on, just lay back. I’ll do it.”

Tom couldn’t say no to that. He stretched out on the bed, and Will moved onto him again. Their faces were inches apart as Will looked at him with heavy eyes. His chest rose and fell rapidly. 

“I love you,” he said as he sank down onto Tom. He bit his lip, hard, and splayed his hands out onto Tom’s chest. Suddenly, he didn’t look too sure of himself. Will lowered his head and buried it into Tom’s neck, trying to stifle his moans as he moved his hips. 

Will’s body trembled against him, and Tom realised he was silently crying. His breath hitched as he sobbed, “Fuck, Tom, please, I--I’m sorry.”

“Will, don’t be sorry. I love you so much,” Tom grit his teeth as Will moved against him. His knuckles were white on Will’s hips. There were bound to be bruises tomorrow. 

Tom let go of Will and instead grabbed his hair, yanking it up so that he could bite his throat some more, only this time much more severely. Will whimpered high and throatily. In retaliation, he raked his nails down Tom’s chest, earning him a strict slap on the ass. He howled.

More tears dripped onto Tom. He kissed them off of Will’s cheeks, all while continuing to jerk Will off again. Will couldn’t stop moving his hands around. There was too much to feel, too much pleasure. “Tom, I’m going to--” He came with a silent sob, getting it all over Tom. 

Will went limp against him, but Tom held him up. “Sorry, Will,” he apologized as Will wept from the overstimulation. Tom came inside him, biting down on his shoulder.

Carefully, he laid Will down as best he could. He wrapped his arms around him, holding him until he felt like moving again. Will breathed against him. 

As soon as Will could move again, Tom handed him a tissue from the nightstand.

“Thanks,” he sniffed. “I’m sorry, I can’t believe I cried again.”

Tom hugged him. “I don’t mind. In fact, I think you look lovely when you do.”

Will swallowed. “Thanks, I’ll make sure to cry more often,” he deadpanned.

Tom laughed and kissed him. “Are you really okay?” he murmured, still smiling. 

“I think so. I’m glad I finally got properly ruined by my boyfriend,” Will teased. He looked so fucked out, with tear tracks still drying on his cheeks. 

“I’m just glad I have you to spend Valentine’s day with.” Tom sat up and got off the bed. “Come on, let’s go have a shower.”


End file.
